Ball don't lie! : myth, genealogy, and invention in the cultures of basketball / Yago Colás.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Colás, Santiago, 1965- author.

Series:

Sporting

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Basketball--United States--History.

Basketball.

Basketball--Social aspects--United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (229 p.)

Place of Publication:

Philadelphia : Temple University Press, [2016]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Pro basketball player Rasheed Wallace often exclaimed the pragmatic truth Ball don't lie! during a game. It is a protest against a referee's bad calls. But the slogan, which originated in pickup games, brings the reality of a racialized urban playground into mainstream American popular culture. In Ball Don't Lie!, Yago Colas traces the various forms of power at work in the intersections between basketball and language from the game's invention to the present day. He critiques existing popular myths concerning the history of basketball, contextualizes them, and presents an alternative history of the sport inspired by innovations. Colas emphasizes the creative prerogative of players and the ways in which their innovations shape and are shaped by broader cultural and social phenomena. Ball Don't Lie! shows that basketball cannot be reduced to a single, fixed or timeless essence but instead is a continually evolving exhibition of physical culture that flexibly adapts to and sparks changes in American society.

Contents:

Contents; Preface: In Praise of Heresy; Acknowledgments; Introduction: "Ball Don't Lie!" December 2, 2012; I. Myths of the Basketball Republic, (1891-1949); 1. The Myth of Creation, December 21, 1891; 2. The Myth of Foundation, June 6, 1946; II. Myths of the Modern Basketball State, (1949-1991); 3. The Myth of the Rivalry, November 7, 1959; 4. The Myth of the Garden, May 8, 1970; 5. The Myth of the Amateurs, March 26, 1979; III. Myths of the Basketball Empire, (1991-Present); 6. The Myth of the Greatest of All Time, June 13, 1991; 7. The Myth of Blackness, March 12, 1997

8. The Myth of the Right Way, June 15, 20049. The Myth of the Man, July 8, 2010; Notes; Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781439912447

1439912440

Publisher Number:

heb40348 hdl